Cavaliers crowned T20 kings
KNYSNA – The Knysna Cavaliers have, for the first time ever, been crowned the winners of the Six Gun Grill SWD T20 Competition. They defeated Pacaltsdorp United in the final at the Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn on Sunday 6 November.
The Cavaliers already made history when they qualified for the semi-finals, where they faced Harlequins Forces on Saturday 5 November – the game was also played at the Recreation Ground. It turned out to be a low-scoring semi-final, as Cavaliers were restricted to 117-6 in their 20 overs. Thabo Dywili top-scored with 34 not-out, followed by JP Ellis with 29 and AB van der Walt with 25. Both Juan Murphy and Rhupino Plaatjies took two wickets for 18 runs for Harlequins.
In their run chase Harlequins were bowled out for 87, with Renaldo Swarts scoring 23 and Sydwell Williams scoring 22. Cavaliers can attribute their triumph to a mightily successful spin effort - Francois Bonthuys and Keenan Vieira took two wickets each and Sean Whitehead took three. However, opening seamer Lutho Ngqongwa still managed three wickets for only seven runs. The victory saw Cavaliers through to the final the following day, and marked their second final in the past seven and a half months - their previous being the 2021/22 SWD Premier League triumph.
The final showdown
In the final they met Pacaltsdorp United, who had been promoted to the Premier League this season having won the 2021/22 Promotion A League. Both sides were chomping at the bit for their first-ever T20 title.
The defending Premier League champions won the toss, opting to bat first. This decision paid off, with the Cavaliers batsmen going hard from the start in a bid to get some quick runs on the board. It worked, and they reached 83-3 after 10 overs. But from there, the Pacaltsdorp United bowlers clawed their way back, restricting Cavaliers to 123-9 in 20 overs. Sean Whitehead top-scored with 39 and Johan Smal followed closely behind with 32. Gert Swart took three wickets for 25 runs while Odin le Roux and Matthew Thorne took two each for Pacaltsdorp.
Pacaltsdorp took a different approach to their batting innings, opting to take it steady by hoping to tick off the runs bit by bit. A measured innings by Blayde Capell (48 runs) kept the ship steady as others gradually added to the total. There were also contributions of 19 runs each from Ethan Coeries and Leroy Bredenkamp.
Pacaltsdorp needed 14 to win
from the final over, which started well for Cavaliers as Gert Swart was run out courtesy of a brilliant direct hit by Keenan Vieira. Needing to defend 14 off the final five balls, Irvin Campher managed
to keep it to only eight more runs, handing Cavaliers a five-run triumph. Vieira was also great with ball in hand, taking two wickets while Quinton Visagie claimed two himself, only conceding 14 runs in
his four overs.
The win means the Cavaliers will now head off to the provincial championships to take on the Boland and Western Province regional winners.